Germany shirt sells out less than 12 hours after World Cup win

BERLIN (Reuters) - A new German football shirt bearing four stars for Germany's four World Cup wins had sold out on Monday within hours of the team's triumph in Brazil - showing the kind of boost retailers can expect from the feel-good factor among fans in coming days.

The German team snatched victory against Argentina late on Sunday with a goal in extra time in Rio de Janeiro. It was the first time Germany has been champion in the soccer tournament since the country reunified in late 1990.

German sportswear maker Adidas is already seeing the benefits, with customers flocking to its Frankfurt store on Monday in a bid to get one of the new white shirts, which cost 84.95 euros. Adidas had made a small batch ahead of the final in case Germany won.

Andre Langer was one of the customers lucky enough to get his hands on a replica of the number '19' shirt worn by Mario Goetze, who scored the winning goal.

"My son will get this shirt - which of course has four stars on it - for his 18th birthday. He's one-year-old now," he said.

On Monday morning Adidas' website was already displaying a "sold out" sign next to the new shirts. The company said it would fly in new ones from China to meet the urgent demand.

Adidas shares ended the day up 2.85 percent and a spokeswoman said Germany's win would give the company "a small extra boost".

Werner Haizmann, head of Germany's VDS sports retailers' association, said the old shirts almost completely sold out in the last days before the final and sports retailers could expect good business after the summer holidays due to World Cup fever.
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